


Mittens

by Mado_Typo



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Chubby Reader, Crushes, F/M, First Date, First Kiss, Flustered Ignis Scientia, Mutual Pining, Prompto Argentum is a Ray of Sunshine, Receptionist!Reader, Self Confidence Issues, dorky reader, please protect him
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-07
Updated: 2021-03-02
Packaged: 2021-03-12 09:47:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 18,452
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29258448
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mado_Typo/pseuds/Mado_Typo
Summary: You're a receptionist at a local music school and the new guitar teacher has a really cute friend.
Relationships: Ignis Scientia/Reader, background Prompto Argentum/Noctis Lucis Caelum
Kudos: 30





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Happy Birthday Ignis!!
> 
> I wanted to take a tiny break from my current fic to post some nice self indulgent fluff as a pallet cleanser. I don't plan on this being very long. Just a few chapters.

You sat at your desk typing away at an email you had been meaning to send to your boss. It was getting colder out and you wanted to request a small space heater to keep you warm. Sitting at a desk near the front entrance to the building was always a little chilly. You cursed yourself for not thinking to bring a warmer jacket or even a pair of mittens.

You shivered as someone entered the building, a gust of cold wind filled the room, but the cold didn’t last long as the smile of the adorable man warmed your heart. It was the new guitar teacher, Prompto. He had only been working at the music school for a few months but the two of you became fast friends once you learned of each other’s love for video games and nerd things in general. 

“Heya, Y/N!” He waved as he wiped his shoes on the mat. “Brrr! It’s getting so cold! How are you sitting there with just a sweater?”

You look down at what you’re wearing. It wasn’t exactly a warm outfit by any means. A thin pair of leggings, a loose T-shirt, a black hoodie, and a pair of fuzzy moogle slippers you liked to keep at work. “I don’t know,” you sighed, rubbing your chilled hands together in an attempt to warm them up. “I’m just about to email the main office for a space heater to keep me warm.”

“At least you have those slippers. Look at how cute they are!!” Prompto excitedly pointed at your slippers once he rounded your desk and placed a coffee on your desk. “You gotta tell me where you got those. I need to get some for my boyfriend.”

“I’ll send you the link once I’m done writing this email,” you smiled at him. “Thanks for the coffee, by the way.”

“Hey, no problem. Iggy gave me a gift card for the coffee place across the way,” he explained. “Kind of a ‘congrats on getting a real job’ kind of gift.”

“Who is Iggy, again?” You take a sip of your coffee, taking a moment to appreciate how the cup warmed the icicles you called fingers. Your question, of course, was a lie. You knew who Ignis was. In your opinion, he was the most attractive out of all of Prompto’s friends. There were some nights where you caught yourself staring at the man on Prompto’s photography instagram account. He was a popular subject for the young blond. “You’ve mentioned him but I can’t remember which one he is. Is that your boyfriend?”

“Nah, just a friend. He’s the guy with glasses in my profile pic on Mogbook,” Prompto took out his phone and showed you his profile picture. How he managed to find not one but three super attractive friends, you’ll never understand. “See the guy on the far right? That’s Ignis.”

“He’s cute,” you comment nonchalantly, hiding your face in the coffee as you take a sip. You weren’t the most suave individual on the planet but you figured you could fool Prompto into thinking you weren’t a touch starved dork and  _ very _ horny for the opposite sex or just about anyone who would give you the time of day.

“Cute? Uh, I think you mean  _ super hot _ ,” Prompto corrected you as he zoomed in on Ignis’s face and urged his phone closer to you. “I don’t think you got a good enough look. You need to appreciate those cheekbones.” Oh, you’ve definitely appreciated them.

“If he’s so ‘super hot’, then why didn’t you go for him?” You asked, finally starting to feel warm after your third large gulp of coffee, burned taste buds be damned. “Does he have a boyfriend?” You hoped you were being chill, metaphorically, and that your new friend couldn’t tell you were secretly pressing him for information. At least with your last question you’d know if he was even interested in women and/or if he was taken. 

“Eh, he might be hot but he’s not my type,” Prompto shrugged.

“Ah, so he rejected you. I get it, I get it,” you smirked with a teasing eyebrow wiggle. 

“Pffft, I’m serious!” Prompto pouted at your accusation. “I’ve never asked. He’s not into dudes.”

_ Aha. There is it _ , you thought.

“You poor soul.”

“Your pity is not needed. I have Noct,” Prompto shrugged with the most adorable smile you’d ever seen. You’d be lying if you said you didn’t think about boning the freckled ray of sunshine when you first met him. But your flirting was short-lived when it was met with genuine feelings of friendship and stories about his boyfriend, much to your disappointment at the time. You’ve since gotten over it and very much welcome Prompto’s company as one of your closer friends. “Anyway, I gotta get ready. My first lesson is in five minutes!”

Prompto smiled again before gliding into his room to set up his equipment. You smiled to yourself as you turned back to the email you had pushed to the wayside in favour of your sunshine boy. A warmth flowed through you but not from the coffee.

“There’s a very small chance, then,” you mumbled to yourself, your smile growing wider. 

-

“Just you and me, huh?” Prompto smiled as he leaned against your desk. It was the end of the day. The rest of the teachers had finished up their last lessons and headed home. The freckled man stretched with a sigh, “I guess my last student is a no show today. Better call my ride.”

“I thought you took the bus?” You cocked your head. “Unless your  _ boyfriend _ is picking you up.”

“Nah, one of the other guys said they’d pick me up today. We’re having a movie night!” He beamed.

“That sounds fun,” you smiled. “What kind of movie?”

“Really terrible B movies.”

“Ooou, invite me over if you end up watching Troll 2 or The Room!” You laughed. 

“Ooh, totally!!” He laughed. “Okay, imma go get my stuff ready before they get here.” Prompto rushed off into his lesson room.

You were just finishing up your paperwork for the end of the day when the door opened. You shivered again but put on a happy face as a man walked in. “Welcome!” You chided happily. You got a better look at the man and recognized him as Prompto’s friend Ignis.

Geez, he was much more handsome in person, and that’s saying something. He was always incredibly attractive in the photos. You squirmed in your seat, feeling unworthy of being in his presence and wildly underdressed. He wasn’t wearing anything too fancy, a black peacoat and dress pants, but he wore it so well. 

“Good evening,” he smiled at you. Fuck, he has an accent. It’s a good thing your cheeks were already red from being cold or you’d never be able to live down how hard you immediately blushed at the sound of his voice. “I’m looking for Prompto Argentum.”

You stay quiet for a moment as you count the adorable beauty marks that littered his face. One...two...three...four...five... “Uh!” You snap out of it and pretend to do something on your computer. “Y-yeah, Prompto’s here. He’s just getting ready to leave. You can feel free to sit in any of the chairs and wait for him.”

“Thank you but I’m perfectly fine waiting right here,” he smiled again, softer this time, as he took off his leather gloves. Suddenly the room was very warm. Uncomfortably warm. Wasn’t it cold a moment ago? What’s happening?

His voice brought you back to reality. He just asked you a question. What was it? How long have you what? Uh oh. “Sorry, could you repeat that?” You laughed nervously. You were totally blowing it and you didn’t even know what  _ it _ was.

“How long have you been working here?” He repeated softly. His voice was like velvet. You could listen to him talk nonsense all day and never grow tired of it.

“Oh, I’ve been here for a couple years. It’s great!” You smiled brightly. “It’s a really chill place.”

“That’s wonderful. Prompto has spoken quite highly of this establishment,” he looked around. “He loves the relaxed atmosphere, the music, and your company.”

“Oh no, he talks about me?” You sucked in a sharp breath with a wince. “He probably says all I do is eat snacks and watch videos on my laptop.”

“Actually, he says he enjoys looking at your drawings and is fascinated by the fact that you’re always writing something,” Ignis turned back to you and you averted your gaze, embarrassed. 

“Aha, yeah, I write a lot,” you took out your little sketchbook and pens from the small pile next to you and showed them to Ignis. “Whenever I have time I’ll do some silly doodles, too.”

“I’d love to take a look, if it’s not too much to ask.”

His request took you by surprise and you nearly dropped your sketchbook. You fumbled with the little book and looked up at Ignis. He was looking back at you with a warm smile and you couldn’t help but wonder what an attractive man like him was doing having a conversation with you, a self proclaimed lump that looked more and more like her couch by the day. You weren’t even wearing any makeup and the realisation made you want to die.

You opened your mouth to say something but before you could answer him, Prompto walked into the room. You brought your sketchbook close to your chest. “Maybe another time,” you said quietly.

“Hey Igster!” Prompto waved at his friend before motioning to you. “This is my friend Y/N.”

“Yes, we were having a lovely conversation,” Ignis nodded before extending his hand to you. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Y/N. My name is Ignis Scientia.”

You reached out to take his hand before your brain could catch up. His hand was so warm. “Good to know yah!” You blurted like an absolute dork. Never before had you wanted to spontaneously combust as much as you did in that moment.

“Goodness,” Ignis gasped lightly, placing his other hand on top of yours. “Your hand is freezing.”

“Oh, uh, yeah,” you laugh nervously, making a small motion to take your hand back but Ignis didn't budge. “It gets cold in here and I didn’t bring any mitts.”

“That’s quite unfortunate,” Ignis frowned. 

“It’s fine,” you wiggled your hand out of his grasp and brought it close to you, averting his gaze. “I’ve emailed head office and they’re going to send me a little space heater to keep me warm.”

“If you’re sure.” Ignis still seemed concerned. 

“She’s fiiiine,” Prompto waved his hands around in an exaggerated manner before urging Ignis to the door. “Bye Y/N! See you tomorrow!”

“Bye Prom!” You waved.

Ignis turned to you with a small wave as he was being dragged out of the building. “It was nice meeting you! Take care,” he called.

“You as well,” you smiled, continuing to wave goodbye to the boys. Once you were sure they were gone, you fell into your chair, letting out a breath you hadn’t realised you were holding in. You had made a complete fool of yourself and that little chance you had was gone, you were sure of it. 

Not five minutes after they were gone you get a text from Prompto.

Sunshine Boy:

“See? What did I tell yah? Hawt as all hell, babbeyyy :fire emoji:”

You rolled your eyes but couldn’t help the wide smile that crept its way to the corners of your mouth.

Y/N:

“How dare you catch me off guard by having your gorgeous friend chat me up.”

Sunshine Boy:

“Oh, so he’s gorgeous now???”

Y/N:

“Hey, you were the one who wouldn’t stop talking about his cheekbones :shrug emoji:”

Sunshine Boy:

“True. True :nodding emoji:”

-

A week had passed since Ignis had seen you at the music school and, to his surprise, could not stop thinking about your brief encounter. It was so simple and pleasant. 

The moment he walked into the building he was graced with an adorable voice and a bright smile. At first glance, you were an average citizen. No makeup, average clothes, average job, but a pleasant disposition he found very refreshing over the stuffy people he had to deal with at work every day. Perhaps talking to you would continue the refreshing feeling, he thought. 

The way you stared at his face in awe stirred something in the advisor. How your eyes widened in embarrassment and began tapping away at your keyboard, it was very cute. 

He had heard about you before when Prompto would talk about his new job. You were the cute receptionist in the stories that would be writing and drawing for no other reason than you enjoyed it. “Dude, I’m pretty sure she’s written a novel or two and I’ve only been there for, like, a couple months,” Prompto said one day. Ignis was curious as to what you were actually writing. 

When you showcased a little sketchbook, Ignis immediately wanted to see the contents. Without thinking, he asked you to take a look, and hoped that request wouldn’t scare you away.

He needed to see you again so he offered to drive Prompto to work and pick him up later for their terrible B movie night. 

“Hey, thanks for helping me carry my stuff inside, Iggy!” Prompto smiled as they entered the building. 

“It’s no trouble, Prompto,” Iggy smiled at his younger friend. 

There was no immediate welcome from you so Ignis glanced in the direction of your desk. You weren’t alone. Accompanying you at your desk was a small child, a little boy around five years old was sitting in your lap as he watched something on your laptop. You were on the phone chatting with who Ignis assumed was a customer, phone in one hand and keeping the child steady in the other. 

“Hey, kiddo, someone came through the door,” you told the kid as you leaned away from the phone. “Remember what you say when someone comes in?”

“Welcome!” The little boy blurted loudly.

“Welcome!” You laughed before you went back to your phone conversation. You made eye contact with Ignis and paused for a moment before smiling sweetly and gave him a small wave. That small flash of your teeth gave him butterflies.

“Come on, let’s put these things in my room!” Prompto urged as he attempted to lift his heavy amp. He gave up and opted to push it on the dinky little wheels it had, maneuvering around the patrons sitting in the chairs of the waiting room. “‘Scuse me, sorry!”

Ignis adjusted the strap of the guitar bag he had offered to carry before following the freckled teacher into his room, glancing at you as he passed your desk. The room was small, consisting of two chairs, a small desk with a computer, and whatever Prompto had decided to fill the room with. Band posters lined the walls, as well as posters of various games Prompto had an interest in. 

“Sorry ‘bout the mess,” Prompto laughed nervously as he shuffled a few cords away with his foot. “Still getting the hang of looking professional but also keeping that ‘cool teacher’ vibe.”

“I’d say the mess contributes to that vibe,” Ignis sighed as he placed the guitar down against a chair.

“Y’think?”

“That doesn’t mean you shouldn't clean your room,” he pointed out. 

“Yeah, because then I’ll be hearing about it from the big boss,” you snorted as you leaned against the doorframe. Ignis jumped at the sudden voice coming from beside him. You smiled up at him. Astrals, you were so much smaller than he was.

“Hey, Y/N,” Prompto smiled at you. “Did Leo get picked up?”

“Nah, he’s still watching cartoons at my desk,” you shook your head. “Just thought I’d say hi before the six o’clock rush of group class kids.”

“Riiiight,” Prompto nodded before sliding to the door and hugging you. “Well, hi!”

“Hi Prom,” you giggle, hugging him back. Ignis couldn’t help but stare at you. You were small but had a pleasantly plush frame. He felt a little jealous watching Prompto hug you and not have the pleasure of holding you himself. You let go of Prompto and looked up at Ignis. “And hello to you, too, stranger. Been a while, huh?”

“Indeed,” Ignis nodded. He followed you back to your desk where the child, Leo, was sitting in your chair. “Is this your child?”

You snorted loudly with a laugh. “No, no, no,” you shake your head. “He’s the little brother of a student that goes here. His mom doesn’t get a lot of time to go shopping so I watch him at my desk while her other kid is in lessons.”

“I see.” Ignis glanced over at the kid, who enthusiastically shouted ‘welcome’ to the patrons walking through the door. When his gaze fell back on you, he saw you rubbing your hands together. “Still no mittens?”

“Um,” you blush as Ignis reached out and placed his warm hands overtop of your frigid ones. “I don’t have an excuse this time. I just didn’t bring any.”

“Perhaps you should have designated work mittens?” He offered with a smile. 

You laughed at the idea before a woman came rushing into the building with a couple grocery bags. “Right on time,” the woman huffed as a gaggle of children spilled out of the room housing the group classes. One of the children ran to her and hugged her leg. “Hi baby, did you have fun in class? One sec, I have to give these to Y/N.”

She shuffled over to your desk, placing the grocery bags, which you happily took. “Thanks so much for looking after Leo. I was able to get so much done!” The woman exclaimed as Leo hopped out of the chair and into his mother’s arms. 

“It’s no problem. Thank you for getting me some food. My pantry was running dry,” you say to the woman.

“It’s the least I could do for your amazing babysitting service!” The woman laughed. “Have a great week!”

“Bye!” You waved as the family exited the building.

“Groceries?” Ignis questioned.

“She gets me a few essential groceries every week in exchange for looking after Leo for an hour,” you explained. “It’s a nice way to save money and know that I have at least something to munch on throughout the week.”

“Are you not being paid enough?” Ignis asked, tilting his head in concern.

“Ah, no, no, no!” you waved your hands frantically. “That’s not what I meant. I’m not going hungry or anything, I just, um, better to have food than money I’ll most likely spend on something dumb, aha.” You looked down at your moogle slippers, one of the dumb purchases you made. You don’t regret it.

“Indeed,” Ignis hummed. You felt like that was the perfect opportunity to have been insulted but there was nothing of the sort from the bespectacled man. You looked up from your slippers to find him smiling down at you. “I’m glad you’re not going hungry and that you’re making good culinary choices, unlike  _ someone _ .”

“Are you talking smack about me?” Prompto peeked his head around the corner, bag of chips in his hand.

“You could do without all the snacks,” Ignis sighed. “If you want to keep all that weight off you’ll keep the snacking to a minimum.”

“Yeah, I know,” Prompto pouted, looking down at his chips sadly before slipping back into his room to start his lesson. 

You sunk into yourself, crossing your arms over your plus figure. You weren’t incredibly large but you weren’t what the media liked, either. Ignis caught your uncomfortable glance. “Have I said something to upset you?”

“N-no, I just,” you paused to find your words. “You get a little sensitive about the subject of weight when people look at you funny, y’know?”

“That was not my intention,” Ignis spoke quickly, a blush dusting his cheeks. “Prompto has just been on a diet and I’m making sure he doesn’t stray from it. It was not a comment on anyone who is overweight. You’re a very attractive woman and--ah--” His blush grew when he let it slip that he found you attractive. 

You blush along with him. It’s not everyday a man who is way out of your league says you’re pretty. “Oh wow, uh, thanks!” You smiled up at him. “You’re pretty cute, too. I like your beauty marks.”

Ignis was still processing how much of a buffoon he must have looked like in front of you to say anything. Instead, he decided staring at you was a better option. It was not. There was an awkward silence that made everyone involved uncomfortable. Even the patrons in the waiting room could feel it. 

The awkward air was quelled when someone cleared their throat, “Y/N, I’d like to pay for this month’s lessons.”

“Oh!” You whip around and make your way back to your chair. “Sorry about that! How would you like to pay?”

Ignis took the opportunity to slip away into the small crowd of parents picking up their kids, avoiding all of the knowing smirks from some of the older patrons. He knew he made a fool of himself. He didn’t need old married women judging him on his flirting skills.

Once in his car, Ignis let his head fall into the steering wheel, uncaring of the loud honking noise accompanying his action.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Awkward Ignis, you love to see it.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You're invited to join in on the gang's B movie night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm a little iffy on what exactly makes something M rated. I'm keeping mentions of anything sexual fairly vague to keep the rating low but I'm sure someone will correct me if something is a little too spicy lol

When Prompto’s shift was over, Ignis waited in the car for him. He wasn’t ready to face you again after what happened only a few hours earlier. He needed a few days to recuperate from that embarrassment.

You could see a car just outside of your building. The lights were on and they were shining in your face. You didn’t blame whoever was outside, they probably didn’t know they were making you uncomfortable, but it was still annoying. 

“Wonder who that is,” you ponder out loud to anyone who would listen.

“Maybe it’s that boy from earlier,” one of the mom’s giggled. She had been at the school earlier because she had multiple kids with lessons at different hours of the day. She had, unfortunately, witnessed you stumble your way through a conversation with Ignis. “Wasn’t he such a cutie?”

“Yeah,” you blush, tapping away at your laptop. “Too good for me, though.”

“Oh hush!” The woman scolded playfully. “Pretty little thing like you could get anyone. I see the way boys look at you.”

“Um,” you blush harder. You’re not great at taking compliments. As much as you wanted to retort with something snarky like ‘then why don’t they just ask me out already’, you bit your tongue and smiled. “Thank you.”

“Bye Y/N!” a young teen said as he waved in your direction, adjusting the guitar bag on his back.

“Bye, kiddo. See you next week.” You waved back as he exited the building to find his parents in the parking lot. 

“All done!” Prompto exclaimed as he stretched. He looked around, a look of disappointment slowly contorted his features. “Where’s Iggy? I asked him to pick me up.”

“Beats me,” you shrug. “Maybe that’s him outside.”

Prompto looked in the direction you pointed and squinted to see past the bright headlights. “Maybe?” He pressed his face against the window to get a better look at the car. “It is! Wonder why he didn’t come in? Oh well, buy Y/N!”

“See you tomorrow,” you waved as he exited the building.

By the time you got home it was decently late. Enough time to get ready for tomorrow and enjoy the night so you decided to shower and chill in bed until you fell asleep.

Once showered and feeling fresh, you walked into the kitchen to find some snacks to munch on before you got comfortable for the night. 

To your surprise, your phone began to ring.

  
  


Ignis was very distracted by the time they got to his place. His mind was plagued with images of the scene that played out at the music school. Your bright eyes and adorable smile was all he could think about. Even if he made a fool of himself, he could always make up for it somehow. He just needed to come up with a plan to do so. 

“Iggy?” Prompto nudged him as they entered Ignis’s apartment. 

“Hm?” Ignis turned to him. “Yes, Prompto?”

“You okay? You’ve been pretty quiet since picking me up,” the younger blond pointed out. 

Was he okay? He was still trying to process how suddenly he became smitten with you. You were quirky in a way that wasn’t obnoxious to him, your smile was inviting, and you had a natural beauty that had him forgetting you hadn’t been wearing makeup. “I’m fine.” he finally spoke. “Let’s get started on dinner.”

The duo were in the middle of making snacks for movie night when Ignis finally spoke. “That girl at the reception desk,” he began, trying to sound nonchalant. “Y/N, was her name, correct?”

“Yeah, she’s a real hoot!” Prompto smiled. 

“Indeed. A hoot,” Ignis paused for a moment, pondering if he should press any further. He decided to go for it, despite his better judgement. “Does she...have a boyfriend?”

Prompto immediately stopped what he was doing and stared straight ahead for a moment or two before whipping around with wide eyes. “ARE YOU HOT FOR MY COWORKER!?” he blurted. Ignis nearly chopped his finger off at the sudden screeching of his friend. He placed his bleeding finger in his mouth as his face began turning as red as the tomato he had been chopping. Prompto, while concerned for his friend, continued his freak out. “This is crazy! I gotta tell Noct!”

“No!” Ignis reached out and stopped Prompto from getting his phone. 

“Aww, you shy, Iggy?” The younger blond teased.

“Don’t patronize me,” he sneered. “I would rather no one know about this.”

“Fine, I won’t call Noct,” Prompto said as he found your number and called you instead. “I’ll call Y/N, instead.” Before Ignis could stop him, your voice emanated from the phone.

“Prompto? What’s up?” You asked from the other side of the line. Ignis was in a silent panic once he heard your voice. 

“Hey, Y/N! Got a question for you!” Prompto smiled. “You’re single, right?”

You snorted a laugh. “I sure am. Why do you ask?”

Ignis silently threatened Prompto with a kitchen knife, to which the younger blond gulped nervously. “Aha, no real reason. I’ve just got some single friends and you’re one of the coolest people I know. So, don’t be surprised if I try setting you up with someone!”

“Ha! Okay, Prom. You know you can just text me, right?”

“Right, right,” Prompto nodded as he looked Ignis dead in the eye before speaking again. “You should join us tonight for our B movie night.”

Had Ignis been a lesser man, he would have stabbed Prompto in the throat. Instead, he stood there motionless while his legs felt like jelly, vice grip on the knife. He relaxed when he heard your voice. “Depends on the movie! There’s only so much cringe I’m willing to take in. Some movies need at least a week of mental prep, y’know?” you say with a giggle. Even over the phone, Ignis felt his heart flutter at the sound of your laugh.

“I’ll send you the details, okay?” Prompto smiled. “Laters!”

Ignis sighed heavily once Prompto hung up. “Must you torture me?” he mumbled as he pinched the bridge of his nose. 

“It’s my new life goal to get you laid, buddy,” Prompto snorted as he began texting furiously, giving you a list of movies and the address to the apartment.

“I do not need your help, I’ve done this before,” the advisor growled. 

Prompto gave him a look, “And how long has it been? Thirty thousand years?”

“What are you implying?” Ignis crossed his arms.

“Hey, I’m just saying I’ve noticed you getting pretty grumpy lately because of your dry spell,” Prompto shrugged with a knowing look. 

Ignis visibly blushed. “That’s...I…” He was too embarrassed to come up with a snarky quip.

“Heh, can’t deny it, can you?” Prompto was beginning to get a little cocky in the conversation, feeling superior to the older blond for once in his life. He sat on the counter of the kitchen island, legs swaying from being unable to touch the floor. “Don’t worry. I’m not making fun of you, Igster.”

“How very kind of you,” Ignis spat harshly. 

“Aw, don’t be like that,” Prompto pouted. “Just ask her out.”

Ignis rolled his eyes. “It’s all so simple now.”

“The sass is a little much,” Prompto wrinkled his nose, unamused. “See what I mean? Such a grumpy man without a little fun.” 

There was a knock at the door before two figures entered the apartment. “Hey!” A low voice called out. 

“The guys are here!” Prompto chided as he hopped off of the counter to greet their friends. 

Ignis stayed behind as he mulled over what Prompto had said. It was true that he had been irritable for the past while. He hadn’t taken the time to enjoy the company of a woman in months, maybe even a year, and it was finally getting to the point where even Prompto noticed his change in attitude. 

Suppose his younger friend was right. Perhaps he needed to get himself out there and have a life outside of Noctis, if only a little. As the saying goes: All work and no play… “Makes Ignis a dull boy,” he mumbled to himself, running a hand down his face.

As the boys got comfortable in the living area, there was a knock at the door. “I’ll get it!!” Prompto immediately sprung from the couch and ran to the door. Ignis thought it was strange. All of his friends were in his apartment already. Unless Noctis ordered a pizza, to which the advisor would have to scold him since he was already in the process of making food and-- “Y/N! Glad you could make it!” 

Ignis froze, afraid to turn around and see you in the foyer of his home. He could hear as you shuffled off your shoes and pad your way into the living area but didn’t dare look. He wasn’t ready, he hadn’t had the time to formulate a plan to captivate you in conversation. He decided to think on some topics of conversation in the few minutes he had before taking a page out of Prompto’s book and winging it. 

  
  


You could feel your heart beating wildly in your chest. So much so that you thought it would burst. Not only were you going to a very attractive man’s house, you were meeting more of Prompto’s friends. You almost bailed twice on the way over purely based on that anxiety.

You even put makeup on, something you didn’t often do anymore. But damn if your eyes didn’t pop with a little eyeliner. You had forgotten how nice it felt to get dolled up. You placed your hair in one of those buns that looks messy but takes forever to get just right and threw on a sweater over your tank top. 

It was cold. More than cold, it was freezing. Like an idiot, you decided to walk since Ignis’s apartment wasn’t too far from yours. What a bad idea. You were going to look like a hot mess by the time you got there. Snow was falling into your hair, making your bun look like a powdered donut, and you didn’t wear mittens  _ again _ .

You were a fool. A mittenless fool. You couldn’t imagine how dry your hands were going to be in the next couple of days but it was your punishment for thinking you could walk ten blocks and not feel the biting cold. 

Once you reached the apartment, you groaned loudly in the foyer, letting the warm air envelope you. The doorman gave you a look but you ignored it and gave him a polite smile before heading to the elevator. 

You rub your hands together furiously as you ascend, the contents of the plastic bag in your arm rattling around at the vigorous motion. You couldn’t believe you actually agreed to watch a movie with them on a Friday evening. You worked in the morning, Friday was the  _ worst _ night for you to go out. Though, you supposed it was better than your college friends nagging you to go out with them to a club across the city only to sit in the corner while they neglected you. Clubs were not fun. You never understood why people waited outside for hours just to get into one. They’re dark, loud, sticky, and gross. Never again.

A tiny ding let you know that you made it to your destination. You were still nervous and didn’t move right away. You ended up waiting too long and the elevator door began to close. “Wait no!” You pressed the open door button and it opened up again. You began walking to the door slowly, “It’s fine. It’s just Prompto. You like Prompto and he likes you. You’ll have to get a read on the other guys’ personalities but it’s fine. This is fine.” Your last statement made you feel like the dog in the burning house meme. 

You knocked on the door, wondering if it was too late to bail. The answer was a resounding yes when your sunshine boy opened the door with a bright smile. “Y/N! Glad you could make it!”

“Thanks for inviting me,” you put on your best customer service act as you walk in and shuffle out of your shoes. That was the only thing keeping you mentally afloat until you could get comfortable with being in a room with four men. Granted, two were gay and dating, but that didn’t stop your mind from panicking. 

You looked over at Ignis once you entered the living area, the only other familiar face, but he failed to meet your gaze. He seemed very interested in whatever he was looking at. A glass of water?

“Who’s this?” a large tattooed man asked with intrigue as he walked out of the kitchen, beer in hand. 

“This is Y/N! She’s the receptionist at the music school I work at,” Prompto explained. 

“Nice to meet you,” he smiled, offering his hand. You take it with a smile of your own. “I’m Gladio.”

“Nice to meet you, too!” You beam, hoping you were doing the whole ‘fake it ‘til you make it’ thing justice. “Uh, I haven’t been invited to anything in a while so I don’t really know the etiquette but I brought some snacks.” You lifted a bag of goodies you bought an half hour prior. “I also brought spoons for throwing.”

“What?” a raven haired boy snorted a laugh. 

“That’s my boyfriend Noct,” Prompto added. “But yeah, what’s with the spoon throwing?”

“Oh, have you guys not done that before?” You asked, taking out a large bag full of plastic spoons. “Prompto told me you guys were planning on watching The Room.”

“What do spoons have to do with the movie?” Noct asked, finally looking up at you from the couch. 

“Well, the production of that movie was terrible. Nearly every picture frame in the house has a stock photo of a spoon,” you explained as you took a spoon out of the bag. “Every time a scene shows a picture frame with a spoon, you throw your plastic spoon at the tv.” You flick your wrist and the spoon in your hand went flying toward the tv, making a little  _ doink _ sound before falling to the floor. “It makes the movie more interactive.”

“Hey, that sounds fun,” Gladio smiled. “Take a seat, sweetheart. We’re gonna start the movie soon.” You nodded, blushing at the pet name, and shuffled over to the couch.

“Hi Ignis,” you smiled as you sat beside him. “Your place looks really nice.”

“Thank you,” he smiled back before turning his head away from you. “I should check on the food.” With that, he got up quickly and hurried into the kitchen. Prompto could see how disappointed you looked so he got up and followed him.

“Dude, you’re totally blowing this,” Prompto whispered harshly as Ignis mindlessly stared at the food in the oven. “What happened to that Iggy charm, huh?”

Ignis groaned, softly hitting his forehead against the oven. “I don’t know.”

“Aww, it’s okay Igster,” Prompto rubbed his back in a comforting manner. “Just be yourself, she doesn’t bite. I mean, unless you’re into that.”

Ignis snorted a laugh. “Right. Just be myself.”

  
  


The boys walked out of the kitchen and back to the living room. Ignis sat down beside you and you smiled at him. “How does the food look?” you ask him.

“It’s coming along,” he replied.

“That’s good,” you say as you rummage through the bag of spoons you had on your lap. You pulled out a handful and gave them to Ignis. “For your throwing pleasure.”

“Alright! Movie time!” Prompto exclaimed as the movie started. He sat between you and Noctis on the couch while Gladio got comfortable in a chair near Ignis. 

You groaned. “This movie is so bad.”

“We’ve seen our fair share of terrible cinema,” Ignis said as he leaned back on the couch, trying to get comfortable. “I’m sure it’s not as terrible as you think.”

“Just wait,” you reassured him.

Ignis hummed in acknowledgement as the credits continued. It wasn’t until the very first line of dialogue that he understood. “Oh no.”

“Do you get it now?” you teased. 

“It’s bad in a loveable way, though,” Prompto nudged you.

“But the sex scenes aren’t even sexy-” You were cut off by Prompto.

“Spoons!” He yelled. A second later, five spoons were hurled at the tv. 

Not twenty minutes into the movie, Ignis leaned closer to you. “I have to agree with your previous statement, this is probably the worst movie we’ve seen as of late,” he spoke lowly in your ear. It took everything you had not to shiver at how close he was. “Though throwing plastic at my television is helping.”

“Glad I could help,” you chuckle, looking up at him for a moment before you turned back to the tv. You could only look at him for so long before you felt the blood rush to your face.

The beeping of the oven broke through the awkward dialogue of the movie.

“I hope you’re all hungry,” Ignis said as he looked over at Prompto, who was munching on the snacks you had brought. He reached over you and snatched the chip bag from the younger blond. “Stop ruining your appetite.”

“Aw fine,” Prompto pouted as he grabbed the game controller. “Want me to pause it?”

“Please spare me,” Ignis groaned, getting up off of the couch. “Y/N, would you give me a hand?”

You began clapping your hands in his direction.

“Very funny,” he huffed.

“Sorry,” you stuck your tongue out with a giggle. “Yeah, I can help.”

“So,” Ignis started as he put on some oven mitts. “Are you the reason we’re watching this terrible movie?”

“Probably,” you chuckled, leaning your weight on the kitchen island. You could hear the boys throwing more spoons at the tv in the other room, it made you smile. “I gave Prompto a list of movies I’d be willing to watch on such short notice. I’ve seen this one so many times that the cringe has been muffled by predictability. So, sorry for showing up without warning. Y’know, if Prompto didn’t tell you.”

“It’s quite alright,” Ignis smiled in your direction before pulling the food out of the oven. He placed it on the island and your eyes went wide. 

“Pizza,” you hummed with delight. It was so fragrant you nearly started drooling. “Oh wow, did you put basil in there?”

“Fresh from my little herb garden,” Ignis motioned to the other end of the kitchen where a small array of herbs were being kept under a uvb light. 

“You must really like to cook, huh?” You asked as you looked around the kitchen. “Fancy kitchen, little herb garden, and you even have the pizza on one of those pizza stones.”

“I more so enjoy the happiness from those I cook for,” he explained as he rummaged through a drawer for a pizza cutter. 

“Then what  _ do _ you enjoy?” you asked, determined to know him better. There had to be something wrong with him. Maybe he liked hitting people with his car or maybe he liked pineapple on pizza. You checked the pizza again to see if there were any pineapple. There were none.

“I enjoy a nice cup of Ebony and I do some reading when I can,” he smiled but didn’t look up from cutting the pizza. 

“What do you read?”

“History, mostly. I also keep up with politics as much as I can, reading various documents at work.”

“That sounds like work reading and not leisure reading,” you sighed. “No fun at all.”

“Indeed,” Ignis chuckled. “I unfortunately don’t have the luxury of free time.” 

“Oh,” you couldn’t help the disappointment in your voice. “Well, I hope you can find the time to do things you like.”

“That’s not to say I don’t make time for those I care about,” he said quickly. “I try to make time for these weekly movie nights Noct insisted on.”

“Your friends seem nice,” you smiled, your mind wandering to your own friends you hadn’t seen in quite some time. After a lull in the conversation, you turned back to Ignis, who was staring at you and quickly turned away. “Hey, uh, what did you need me for?”

“Ah,” Ignis cleared his throat and motioned to a cupboard behind him. “Could you grab some plates and cutlery for the group?”

“Sure thing!” You shuffled over to the cupboards and opened them. As you reached for the plates, you realized you were a bit too short to grab them safely. You didn’t want to risk smashing any plates and you also didn’t want to look like a chubby gremlin crawling on the kitchen counters to reach them. “Um, Ignis?”

“Yes?”

“I, uh, I might not be any help after all,” you looked over your shoulder sheepishly. “I can’t reach the plates.” You could see Ignis bite his lower lip as he looked at you bounce on your tippy toes, demonstrating how your fingertips could barely reach the top of the plates. You hoped your blush wasn’t obvious.

“Let me help,” he finally said, coming up behind you. As he leaned forward to grab the stack of plates, you could feel his chest slowly press against the back of your head. The feeling made you want to die as impure thoughts came flooding in and plagued your mind. He offered you the stack of plates and you took them, your hands brushing against his for a moment. His touch was like fire and you couldn’t help your breath hitching. “The cutlery is in the drawer over there.” His voice was low and strained as he backed away from you. 

You bit your lip hard to keep yourself from whining at the absence of his body heat. “‘Kay thanks,” you said quickly, being sure not to look at him as you put the plates down to grab the cutlery. “Do you need me to do anything else?”

“That should be everything, thank you Y/N.”

You failed to answer him as you shuffled back into the living room and placed the pile of plates onto the coffee table.

Before you knew it, the movie was over and everyone was going home for the night. You barely remembered the last half of the evening, you were too busy reliving the brief moment of physical contact with the gorgeous bespectacled man. 

“Hey, Y/N,” Gladio got your attention. “You need a ride home?”

“No, I was gonna stay behind and help clean up,” you replied as you looked at the floor riddled with spoons.

“You don’t have to do that,” Ignis said from the kitchen.

“I’m the one who brought the spoons, it’s only fair that I clean them,” you retorted. 

Ignis sighed. “Very well.”

“Aight, see you later, Iggy,” Gladio waved at his friend before smiling at you. “Nice meeting you.”

“You as well,” you waved until the door was shut behind the hulking man, leaving you alone with Ignis.

“Oh!” you gasped, rushing to your bag that you had left at the front door. You rummaged through it until you were able to find your sketchbook and pulled it out as Ignis emerged from the kitchen. “I brought this just in case you still wanted to take a look. They might not be great but, um, yeah.”

“I’d absolutely love to have a look,” he smiled.

Ignis flipped through your sketchbook while you shuffled around on the floor, picking up any spoons you could find. He was pleasantly surprised at the level of detail most of the drawings had. Some were the doodles you had mentioned before but others were highly detailed drawings, sometimes coloured. They seemed to vaguely resemble the artwork he’d seen in Noct’s manga collections.

“You do all these drawings at work?” Ignis asked as he continued to flip through the book.

“Yeah, I keep all of my pens and markers in a cabinet at work,” you explained as you slide your hand behind the tv to get a rogue spoon. “I have the luxury of a chill job with lots of spare time. It’s nice to just shut my brain off and draw.”

“Have you thought of doing this for a living?” Ignis looked over at you. It was an innocent enough question. You have passion and talent, why wouldn’t he ask you if you thought about pursuing a career that revolved around it? But the face you made would suggest otherwise, coupled with the audible groan that escaped your lips. “Did I hit a nerve?”

“Ah,” you looked away, trying to find more spoons on the floor. “Sorry, it’s not you. I, uh, I get that a lot. I just don’t do well with the art industry. Deadlines and drawing things that I don’t want to. It’s all way more work than it’s worth for me, personally.”

“I’m sure you wouldn’t have to do anything you didn’t want to,” Ignis reassured you. 

“That’s cute,” you mumble. You ran your hands through your hair with a sharp inhale. “Sorry, sorry. I shouldn’t be so spicy, you’re just trying to make me feel better.”

“It’s quite alright,” Ignis spoke softly. “You obviously have a history with art that I’m unaware of.”

“It’s just…” you stopped yourself for a moment, wondering if ranting about your life to a guy you barely know is a good idea. You decided to go for it. “You go to college, expecting to find your passion in one of the many artistic fields, only to feel the crushing weight of a cut throat and highly sought after industry. Instead of finding a passion, you find dread and anxiety. I didn’t want to live like that, so I worked odd jobs that had nothing to do with my degree until my dead passion started to come back to life.”

“I’m so sorry.”

“Eh, don’t be,” you shrugged, piling your spoon findings into the plastic bag you brought them in. “One day I might pursue it again but for now I’m very happy with doing it purely for fun.”

“How about your writing?” Ignis asked. “I’ve heard you’ve also done a great deal of that.”

“Oh, no, no, no, no,” you laughed nervously. “No one is ready to look at that. I just kinda write whatever. Only my close friends have read my stuff.”

“Hmm, then I suppose we’ll just have to grow closer as friends,” Ignis chided. You could see a faint dusting of pink on his cheeks and that just made you feel warm and fuzzy inside. 

“Aha, I guess so, huh?” Why did you phrase that as a question? You sighed before walking over to Ignis to take the sketchbook. “I should just--” you were shooed away before you could finish your sentence.

“I’m not finished looking,” Ignis said as he continued to flip through the book. 

“There’s only a few sketches left,” you sighed. You suddenly remembered what was on the last page you worked on and panicked. “I-it’s really nothing too important, I haven’t even finished them yet!”

“Nonsense,” Ignis continued to keep you from taking the book. His eyes widened once he got to the last page. “Is this me?”

On the page were various sketches of Ignis in a few different styles. Most of them were facial expressions but some were full body sketches of him in the various outfits you had seen him in. His hairstyle gave away that they were of him.

“Ah…” you swallowed hard. “Y-yeah.”

“I’m extremely flattered that you’d consider drawing me,” Ignis grinned. “Such a high honour.”

“Well, y’know, you’re a neat guy,” you shrugged, averting his gaze. “A-anyway, I should probably head out. I’ve cleared the area of your spoon infestation.”

“Hmm, yes, the spoon problem was getting a little out of control,” he joked. “Such a difficult pest to eradicate.”

You giggled as he finally let you take the book from his grasp and placed it in your bag. “Thanks for the pizza, by the way. It was one of the best I’ve had.”

“My pleasure,” he hummed as he watched you put your outside gear on. “Still no mittens, hm?”

“Yes, well, I’m dumb,” you groan. “I keep forgetting to bring some with me. Besides, I can’t exactly use mittens at work. I use my hands so much. Can you imagine how hard it would be to type or dial the phone in those?”

“It could be an extra challenge to keep your work life interesting.”

You snorted. “No way. I guess you’ll just have to come over more often and be my personal hand warmer.” You screamed internally at what you just suggested.

“How well does this hand warming job pay?”

You were surprised that he was actually playing along but didn’t complain. “It pays very well if you count being with me all day as currency,” you smile, immediately regretting your sorry attempt at flirting. 

“If that’s the case, I would be rich by week’s end,” he drawled. You blushed. Wow he was actually flirting back. This was his chance, the perfect opportunity to ask you on a date, because Astrals knew you weren’t going to do it yourself. You were giving him an in, he just needed to take it. You could almost see the gears turning in his head as he looked down at you. 

When he didn’t say anything, you sighed quietly before turning to open the door. “Well, I should get going. Saturday mornings are rough when you gotta be up early for work,” you laugh. “Thank you for having me over. I had a great time.”

It took Ignis another moment to say anything. “It was my pleasure,” he smiled. “You’ll be alright finding your way home?”

“Yeah, there’s a bus that’ll take me home faster than walking,” you replied, looking back at him. “Bye Ignis.”

His chance slipped away more and more with each step you took closer to the elevator. He blew it. He totally blew it. He could have said something but he didn’t. You guessed then he wouldn’t have actually ‘blown it’ if he didn’t even want to take the chance in the first place. You also guessed that meant there wasn’t any chemistry after all-- “Y/N!” Ignis called. 

You perk up and turn to face him. “Yeah?”

He was quiet for a moment. “If you, ah, if you would like to join us for our movie nights from now on, we’d love to have you.” He punched the door frame with the side of his fist, mentally berating himself for how idiotic he sounded. 

You let out a small huff of a laugh, your amusement outweighing your disappointment. “Yeah, I’d like that.”

You give one last wave before walking into the elevator. You wait until the doors close before crying out loudly, letting out all of your pent up emotions from the past few hours. Whether it was out of frustration, anxiety, or frustration of the sexual variety, you didn’t exactly know. You just needed to scream a little. What you did know was that you were falling pretty hard for a guy that probably didn’t like you back. An attractive and accomplished man like Ignis wouldn’t be into a nobody receptionist for a local music school anyway, right? He seemed like the kind of guy to be polite. That’s what was happening, yes, he was just being polite when you were flirting with him.

Ignis continually bashed his head against the door softly but hard enough for him to deem it as a punishment for not saying what he wanted to say to you. He had been on dates before, he knew how to put on a charming smile and woo anyone he wanted. Why was it so hard for him to do it now? He felt like a teenager again and it made him groan.

The signs were there. There was  _ something _ there. You were  _ drawing _ him for gods’ sake, that had to mean something. 

For the time being, Ignis decided to play it cool and get to know you just a bit more. He didn’t want to ruin this. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Watch The Room if you're into movies that are TERRIBLE in every way. It's so bad it's good.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You and Prompto say a swear and you get sick

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter ended up being way longer than I thought it was going to be woops
> 
> I name drop one of my favourite cartoons, Gravity Falls, because it's great but otherwise not exactly important lol

A week had passed since you joined the boys for their B movie night. Ignis had come to the music school a few times since then to drop Prompto off or give you coffee. It was really nice of him and you told him it wasn’t necessary but he insisted.

It was nice getting to know Ignis. It helped you feel more comfortable around him, which was something you desperately needed. You didn’t think you could handle the emotional strain of being flustered every time he walked into the room. He also seemed to be more relaxed over the past couple of visits. He would pull up a chair and talk with you for at least an hour every time, to which you would always make a quip about him having no free time.

“I told you, I always make time for my friends,” he told you at least twice before. While the use of the word ‘friend’ stung a little, you were happy that he wanted to spend time with you regardless.

You had learned that he wasn’t opposed to playing video games after you asked him about the PS4 you saw in his living room. That gave you hope that you’d have more in common or that you could at least introduce him to some of your favourite games. He had also expressed interest in watching some of your favourite shows with you, even though you told him that a couple of them were cartoons aimed at kids. 

“If other adults can enjoy a compelling animated show about twins solving the mysteries of a town and a demon triangle, then I could give it a go,” he had said.

“Alright,” you beamed. “Then I guess that means I’ll watch a show of your choosing with you when we’re done with mine. It’s only fair.”

“Such generosity, I’m truly touched,” he smirked.

“What can I say?” You shrugged playfully. “I’m a people pleaser.”

Your conversations were always such a joy, they always left you anticipating his next visit. 

Today, however, you prayed--no, pleaded--to whatever god would listen, that Ignis wouldn’t show up.

But the gods didn’t listen.

Ignis walked into the music school and immediately knew something was different. There was no enthusiastic welcome from you like usual. You barely even lifted your head when the door chimed open. You gave him a sweet smile but your eyes betrayed you. Their usual brightness was replaced with a half lidded glazed over look. 

Ignis’s initial worries of you being upset with him in some way were quelled at the sight of you huddled in your chair, wrapped in a blanket. You weren't just tired, you were  _ exhausted _ .

“Y/N…” Ignis spoke softly.

“Mmm?” You tilted your head in his direction with a small hum of acknowledgement.

“I realise now I should have gotten you something a little stronger,” Ignis joked as he placed a coffee on your desk. You didn’t respond, just stared straight ahead at nothing in particular. He called your name again and you blinked, looking over at him. “Are you alright?”

“Huh? Oh, yeah, I’m fine,” you nodded, taking the cup that you assumed magically appeared in front of you. The gods hadn’t listened to your earlier pleas but graced you with coffee; you weren’t going to question it or complain. “I accidentally left my window open all night. I woke up freezing. By the time it warmed up, I couldn’t get back to sleep. But I’ll bounce back eventually. I always do.”

Ignis didn’t seem to believe you. He took one of his leather gloves off and placed his hand against your forehead. You hummed at the contact and leaned into his touch. If you were of sound mind, you would have been embarrassed by your actions. 

“You’re burning up,” he said quietly.

“At least I’m warm for once,” you mumbled between sips of coffee.

“Perhaps you should take the day off,” he offered.

“And miss work?” You snorted at the absurd suggestion. You weren’t one to miss work. You had gone to work no matter what you felt like at every job you had. The only thing that kept you home from work was throwing up your insides that one time you had a really bad flu. “No thank you, I need the money.”

Ignis rolled his eyes and took out his wallet, placing a generous amount of cash in front of you. “There. Now go home.”

“Are you crazy?” You pushed the money away.

“Go home,” he repeated. You stuck her tongue out at him, like a child, and shimmied in your seat defiantly, tightening the blanket around your plush frame. 

“What’s going on here?” Prompto laughed from the entrance, stomping the snow off of his boots. He looked over at your sorry state and clicked his tongue. “Awe. Looks like someone’s got a case of the Saturday mornings. You doing alright, buddy?”

“Hhhhhh,” you breathed like a dead husk. 

“She’s like this every Saturday morning?” Ignis turned to his friend. 

“Not usually this bad but yeah,” Prompto nodded, taking the coffee Ignis offered him. He looked down at you and his eyes widened, “On second thought, she looks way worse than her usual Saturday morning blues.”

“She’s sick,” Ignis stated simply.

“Lies and slander,” you retorted.

Prompto looked down at your desk. “What’s with all the money?”

“He’s trying to bribe me into going home,” you mumbled, nursing your coffee.

“And you’re not taking the money?” Prompto snorted, taking out his phone. “You’re such an idiot. I’m texting the other receptionist to come in. You deserve a day off.”

“Wait, no, I need money,” you whined.

“You  _ have _ money,” Prompto pointed to Ignis’s money on the desk.

“Blood money,” you spat. 

“Y/N,” Ignis’s voice was low. “I will literally drag you out of here if I have to.”

“...fine,” you finally agreed, taking Ignis’s open hand to help you out of your chair and onto your feet. You nearly fell into him but took a moment to balance yourself.

“Your hands are frigid and your nail beds are purple,” Ignis pointed out, still holding your hand. 

“That doesn’t surprise me, I can’t feel them,” you grumble, tightening the blanket around you. 

Prompto came up behind you and gave you a big hug, “Get better, okay?”

“Yeah, I will.” You leaned your head back to bump into his affectionately. Once he let go of you, Ignis led you to the door. 

You sat in the passenger seat of Ignis’s car, slowly counting the money he had shoved into your hands. “This is three days worth of work,” you pointed out. “Do you always carry so much money on you?”

“I live comfortably enough to have a decent amount of pocket change,” was all he said.

“Pocket change,” you repeated with a laugh, salty that the lifeblood that kept you fed was  _ mere pocket change _ to this man. “Why waste your time with me, then?”

“I beg your pardon?” Ignis seemed genuinely surprised by your question. 

“I am a lump. I’m not some aristocrat or a diplomatic whatever,” you said, your mouth going on autopilot as you attempted to navigate through the fog in your brain. You knew Ignis came from a noble family. You knew Prompto’s boyfriend was the Prince of Lucis. Those facts had made you nervous meeting them but it didn’t actually bother you much until right that second in the car. “I’m just some regular schmoe. I’m basically a stray cat you picked up off the side of the road. A lumpy couch cat. Cat lump. Cat couch…” Uh oh, your brain might have stopped working. Perfect.

“Are you alright?” Ignis frowned at you, turning away from the traffic in front of him only for a moment to make sure you weren’t having a stroke. 

“I’m so tired and my head is on fire…” you whined. You looked down at your icicle hands before placing them on your warm forehead. “Aahhh, sweet relief.”

“Y/N...I don’t care if you’re not from a noble family,” Ignis sighed. “Much like Prompto, your company is far more important than a family name.”

You looked over at him and admired his profile. His ears and nose were red from the cold and his lips were parted ever so slightly. He had such a cute overbite. You blinked a few times before smiling with a huff. “I wish I could believe you.”

You don’t remember telling Ignis where you lived, you don’t remember getting out of the car, and you don’t remember getting into bed. But there you were, tucked snuggly into your sheets. Your space heater, which was usually in the corner of your bedroom, was seated on a chair next to your bed set on high heat. You were toasty warm and didn’t want to get out of bed. So you didn’t, opting to fall back asleep instead.

When you wake up for a second time, you feel much better. Your fever had lessened and you were pleasantly warm. You noticed a glass of water on your night stand with a note under it. 

_ Drink plenty of water and get as much rest as you can. _

_ I left your house key under the doormat. _

_ Please call me if there's anything you need. _

_ -Ignis _

There was a cute drawing of mittens next to his name, along with his phone number. It made you smile as you put his number into your contacts. “Cute boy number,” you giggle to yourself.

You checked the time. It was nine o’clock at night. You had slept for nearly twelve hours. The next thing you noticed was a slew of texts from Prompto.

Sunshine Boy:

9:30am

“Y/N! Iggy said he took you home! I hope you’re doing okay. Text me when you can!”

Sunshine Boy:

11:07am

“This other receptionist isn’t one for conversation. She’s boring. I hope you feel better soon, I miss your smile!”

Sunshine Boy:

11:34am

“Three of my students have already asked about you and are sad you’re not here!”

Sunshine Boy:

1:14pm

“I’m assuming you’re sleeping and not just ignoring me because if you were ignoring me that would be super uncool of you.”

Sunshine Boy:

1:16pm

“Unless you’re ignoring me because you’re with Iggy??? ;))))”

Sunshine Boy:

4:35pm

“Well, it’s the end of the work day and you still haven’t responded so I’m going to assume you’ve been getting handsy with Iggy all day until you prove me wrong.”

Sunshine Boy:

6:43pm

“Okay, Iggy said he hasn’t seen you since he dropped you off at your place. There goes my assumption! Now I know you really are ignoring me!”

Sunshine Boy:

8:09pm

“Okay, are you actually dead???”

_ Missed call from Sunshine Boy _

Sunshine Boy:

8:23pm

“Y/N pls. Are you dead? Do you need me to come over?”

_ Missed call from Sunshine Boy _

_ Missed call from Sunshine Boy _

_ Missed call from Sunshine Boy _

Sunshine Boy:

8:31pm

“I’m coming over.”

“Uh oh,” you tapped on his name to call him, bringing the phone to your ear. He picked up immediately.

“You’re alive!!” The freckled boy exclaimed from the other side of the line. You grimaced at how loud he was. “Fuck, I was so worried about you! It’s not like you to go radio silent like that. I thought you were dead!”

“I’m sorry, Prom,” you sighed, your voice raspy from lack of use the past twelve hours. “I’m okay, I just slept all day. You don’t have to come over.”

“Yeeaahhh, about that…” he trailed off. There was a banging at your front door. You hobbled out of bed, comforter wrapped around your body, and padded your way to the door. Your sunshine boy smiled brightly at you, phone still at his ear. “I’m here!”

“I see that,” you giggle, hanging up your phone.

“You look like the trash ladies from Labyrinth,” Prompto snorted a giggle once he got a good look at you. 

“Rude,” you mumbled as Prompto made his way to your couch. You noticed he was rummaging through a plastic bag he had brought. “What’s that?” You sat down beside him, the comforter nearly consuming you. 

“Iggy wanted me to give you this little care package,” he explained.

“Care package,” you repeated, taking in the implication of the words. Obviously Ignis was concerned about you enough to get Prompto to deliver a package full of things to help you feel better. 

You took your phone out and sent Ignis a quick text.

Y/N:

“Thank you”

You smiled, thinking that was a nice simple message but immediately fumbled for your phone again. “Wait, shit.”

Y/N:

“It’s Y/N, btw.”

Nailed it.

“Ice pack,” Prompto said as he placed a squishy bag of gel on your head. “Pre chilled, courtesy of Insomnia’s cold ass winter.” You chuckled as you adjusted the ice pack to conform to the shape of your head better. You watched as Prompto placed a slew of over the counter medications onto your coffee table. “Geez, Iggy didn’t skimp out, huh?”

“It’s so much,” you commented, taking one of the liquid bottles in your hand. You fumbled with the plastic wrapped around the cap before downing a couple gulps straight from the bottle. “Guh, this tastes terrible.”

“Easy there,” Prompto laughed as he took the bottle away from you. “Hey, wanna watch some anime?”

“As long as it’s an English dub. I can’t do subtitles right now,” you groaned. 

“Uhg, fiiiine,” Prompto groaned as he pushed himself off of the couch and sauntered over to your collection of movies and shows. “What are you in the mood for?”

“Something mindless and silly.”

“Okay. Medabots?” he suggested.

“Yes please,” you nodded. You noticed a plastic bowl inside of the bag Prompto had brought. “What’s in the bowl?”

“Huh?” Prompto looked over from the tv. “Oh, Iggy made that for you.”

“What is it?” You attempted to reach the bowl with your little grabby hands. When that didn’t work you tried leaning closer but ended up falling to the floor, the comforter surrounding you completely shrouded you in darkness. “Help. Prom, heeeeelp!”

“Oh, honey,” Prompto sighed as he looked at your sorry state. “You’re an even bigger mess than I am, and that's saying something.”

“Don't 'oh honey' me. You can't just pull out the gay card to give yourself a free pass to insult me,” you mumble as Prompto untangled you from the comforter.

He laughed. “I’m not insulting you because I like dudes. I’m insulting you because we’re friends.”

“Just gimme the soup,” you reached out with your grabby hands and took the bowl. It was nice and warm. You took the lid off and took a sip. “Wow, what is this?”

“Gold tail soup,” Prompto replied as he turned the tv on. “Omg, are you crying?”

“It’s so good,” you sobbed on the floor. You ignored Prompto taking pictures of you eating soup on the floor wrapped in a large comforter. You were hoping it would be something you could look back on and laugh. 

Once you finished the soup and found your way back to the couch, you looked back at your phone to find a message from Ignis.

Ignis:

“It was no trouble, Y/N. I’m glad you’re alright.”

“Who are you texting?” Prompto teased.

You blushed and hid your face in the comforter. “I sent Ignis a text to thank him.”

“Mhm, ‘cause that’s the look of someone who just wanted to say thank you,” he snorted. "You liiiiike him.”

You shoved him. “Go away.”

“Hey, I don’t blame you. He’s a good looking guy,” the blond shrugged as he folded his arms behind his head. “You should ask him out.”

“Hah!” you threw your head back to laugh. “Me? Ask someone out? We’re obviously not good enough friends for you to know how I function.”

“We’re good enough friends for me to know that you  _ don’t _ function,” he teased. “All you do is work because you don’t know how to be social.”

“Neither do you, dork.”

“Haha, yeah,” he turned to face you. “But you’re a bigger dork that needs someone to take care of you. Iggy can do that. He’s basically the group’s mom.”

“I don’t need a mom.”

“You need a daddy?”

“AAHH NO!” You whacked him with a throw pillow before letting the comforter completely consume you. “Why are you like this?”

“Because I know this isn’t your first relationship,” Prompto explained. “You just gotta quit being so scared.”

“You didn’t even ask Noct out!” You blurted. “You two just gradually fell into a domestic life together until one of you had to ask if you were actually dating.”

“Um,” Prompto blushed. “Couldn’t you have let me feel all high and mighty for a little longer?”

“Not at my expense,” you sneered. “I haven’t dated in a while. My dating game is pretty rusty.”

“You sound just like Iggy,” Prompto sighed to himself. 

-

The next morning you woke up to a soft buzzing from your phone. You poked your head out from under the covers and saw you had a message. You reached for your phone and turned it on, hissing at the blinding light. 

Ignis:

“Good morning. I hope you’re feeling well and that my care package helped yesterday.”

You smiled. You didn’t think you’d ever get a good morning text from a cute guy again. You giggled like a schoolgirl before typing up your reply.

Y/N:

“Morning! Yes, it helped a lot. That soup was so good! And the meds helped me have a nice deep sleep. So, thanks :)”

Ignis:

“You're very welcome. Are you working today?”

Y/N”

“No, I always have Sundays off.”

Ignis:

“Any plans?”

Y/N:

“I have ‘staring at a wall’ from noon until dinner in my calendar :laugh crying emoji:”

Ignis:

“That sounds frightfully boring :/”

You giggled at the emoji he used. He didn’t seem the type to use emojis so it was pleasantly surprising. You were going to reply with another joke but he sent another text.

Ignis:

“I could accompany you today, if you like.”

You felt your chest tighten. The thought of spending a day with Ignis alone in your apartment was a bit much for you to handle. You didn’t know how to reply. Everything you thought of was either too desperate, too much of a joke, or a flat out no. You rolled around in your bed groaning until you thought of a good way to reply.

Y/N:

“I mean, if you want to. It might be a bit boring for you and I don’t want you to ditch work for me or anything.”

Ignis:

“Noct can take care of himself today. Right now you need company and more soup lol”

“Perhaps we can start that cartoon you love?”

Y/N:

“Yes! Yes to cartoons and soup lol. I’m actually kind of excited now :)”

Was that too much? You thought. It was a bit too late not to send it but Ignis seemed pretty adamant about coming over so it was probably fine. 

Ignis:

“Is being at your apartment in an hour too soon?”

Y/N:

“Not at all! It’ll give me some time to get ready. See you toon :)”

“Woon*”

“Wait no fuck”

“SOON! See you soon!”

“‘Kay bye”

Ignis:

“:laugh crying emoji:”

Well, at least he had a good sense of humour, you thought as you rolled out of bed to shower. You got ready in record time, your hair was washed and styled simply in a bun, you didn’t bother putting on makeup since he’d seen you without it before and you were still sick, and you managed to rid your small apartment of any trash lying around. You gave yourself a pat on the back for being so productive in only an hour. 

“I should have boys come over more often,” you mused to yourself as you fell onto the couch. “I’d get so much cleaning done.”

Not even a few seconds into lounging, you heard a knock at your door. Someone must have let him in without pressing your buzzer. You leapt off of the couch and made a mad dash to the door, checking the peep hole to see if it was really him. 

Yes it was. Ignis stood on the other end of the door humming a small tune. You psych yourself up before unlocking the door and opening it. 

“Hey Iggy--I mean, Ignis,” you blushed. You weren’t sure if he would be okay with you using his nickname since it was so personal.

“Iggy is fine,” he chuckled. “How are you feeling today?”

“I’m okay but I’m glad it’s my day off so I can relax and take more time to get better,” you explained as Ignis shuffled his shoes off in the foyer. “Welcome to my tiny home.”

“Yes, I was admiring its quaint feel the first time I set foot in it,” Ignis smiled.

“Oh yeah, you were here yesterday,” you laughed nervously, forgetting he was the one who took you home. Ignis handed you the tote bag he was carrying. “Soup?” 

“Yes it is,” he replied with a small smile.

“Sooouuup,” you cooed with delight.

Ignis chuckled at your excitement as he took off his coat and hung it near the door. “Alright, time to introduce me to this Gravity Falls you’ve told me so much about.”

“Yes, right!” You look up from the soup you were holding. You were momentarily distracted by the fact that he was wearing a t-shirt. It was so casual and you could see how muscular he was and hoo boy that was a pleasant surprise to say the least. “U-um, right, cartoons. Let’s go to the living room.”

Ignis followed you to the living area and sat next to you on the couch. “Shall I fetch the show from the shelf?”

“No, no, you stay there. You’re my guest,” you waved him off as you got up.

“But I came here to help you because you’re sick,” he retorted.

“Then I guess we’re both getting up,” you joked.

“Very well,” he got up and met you at your large shelving unit full of games and dvd sets.

“Ignis, I was kidding,” you rolled your eyes at the man, who gave you a cheeky smirk. 

“At least now I can take the time to see your taste in cinema,” he said as his eyes scanned the shelves. “You have a lot of games for various consoles.” 

“Yeah, I prefer playing games over watching movies,” you shrugged. “Most of my movie viewing is on streaming services.”

“Fair enough,” he shrugged, idly taking a few games to read the contents of the box. “We’ll have to play a kart racing game at some point. The boys won’t play with me anymore.”

“Oh no, are you secretly good at video games?” you gasped, turning to him with the box set of Gravity Falls.

“It’s not a secret,” he smirked. 

“Damn, okay, I’ll take you on. I’m not too bad, myself,” you stuck your tongue out playfully. You could see him swallow hard at your words before putting the game back and making his way to the couch. “Not today, of course. My head is still a little fuzzy. I gotta have a clear head.”

“Now you’re just making excuses,” he snorted from the couch, crossing his legs. 

“Pffft,” you scoffed, sitting beside him once you placed the dvd into your game console. “Let’s just watch a beautiful cartoon for now, okay?”

-

It was a quiet day at work. Mondays usually were. With only a small handful of the teachers coming in and many of the classes being online, you had some time to yourself to play some video games on your Switch. 

You had been so engrossed in your game that you hadn’t noticed someone come in and stand at your desk. It wasn’t until they cleared their throat that you looked up and stared into those beautiful emerald eyes. “Oh!!” You blush, embarrassed that you didn’t notice him come in. “Ignis! I didn’t see you come in. Uh…” You had no idea how to save the situation so you just kinda trailed off. 

Ignis huffed with a smile. “Apologies for interrupting your game.”

“No, no, don’t apologize. I shouldn’t be playing games at work,” you pause your game and put it in sleep mode. “Professionalism and all that.” You look at the tray of drinks he was holding. “Is one of those for me?” You motion to the tray, a hopeful look in your eyes.

“Why, yes, one is for you,” he took one of the drinks from the tray and placed it in front of you. “I wanted to try something a little different today. I didn’t know what other kind of drinks you enjoy so I had Prompto procure a list of the requests you had given him during coffee runs in the past.”

“O-oh!” You take the warm coffee in your hands and read the label. It wasn’t a coffee but a holiday themed drink. A chai latte with eggnog. “Thank you so much! You didn’t have to do that, y’know.”

“It’s my pleasure,” he smiled. “Still no mittens, I see.”

“Are you gonna make fun of my poor circulation every time you come visit?” You whine with a pouty lip. Ignis bit his own lip while you were preoccupied with taking a sip off your drink, wishing it was your cute pouty lip he was biting instead. 

“No, because I have a gift for you,” Ignis said as he offered you a small bag. You took it with a curious look. 

“A gift?” You repeated, peeking into the bag. You took out the contents, a pair of mittens that fold out into fingerless gloves. “Oh! They’re so cute! Little mitten/glove hybrids...what’s with the wires?”

“You can plug them in for extra heating,” Ignis explained.

“Wow, like an electric blanket for my hands,” you smile brightly at Ignis. “Thank you so much, Ignis! I should repay you somehow.”

_ You could go on a date with me. _

Ignis cleared his throat as he pushed his thoughts away. “There’s no need to repay me. This was a gift.”

“Still…” you looked around your desk until you stopped at a little stuffed Gudetama that was sitting on your printer. “Aha!” You swiped him off of the printer and offered him to Ignis.

“And who is this little creature?” Ignis asked as he accepted the small stuffed toy. 

“That’s Gudetama. A lazy little yolk,” you explained. “He can remind you to take a break every now and then.”

“Are you sure it’s alright for me to take him?”

“Of course! I have two,” you showcased an identical toy that was sitting on the opposite end of your printer, bumping your toy against his in a pseudo kiss of some sort. “Now we’re matching.”

Ignis couldn’t help the blush that crept its way up his neck all the way to the tips of his ears. You were so damn adorable. Every little thing you did, you did it without a hint of embarrassment for being completely yourself. 

“Please go on a date with me.” The words had left his mouth before he could stop them. It was much less eloquent than he was planning and he forgot how to breathe.

You stared at the gorgeous man with wide unblinking eyes, replaying his request over and over in your mind. Did he just ask you out? On a date?? Because he likes you??? Surely you were dreaming. You probably fell asleep at your desk again. There was no other explanation for why this man would be asking you out on a date. 

There were no words from either of you for a couple minutes. You were convinced you didn’t know how to speak. Words were foreign to you. 

You answered the only way you knew how. You bumped your plush toy against his again affectionately. “Y-yeah, that sounds nice,” you said quietly. 

Ignis let out a hefty sigh like he had been holding in that breath since he asked you out. “Wonderful. Splendid. Fantastic,” he smiled, seemingly unable to stop coming up with new synonyms. It was cute. 

“Delightful!” You chimed in. 

“Magnificent,” you said at the same time. You both giggle.

“So,” you started, idling picking at a loose stitch from the plush toy in your hand. “What did you have in mind? Date wise, I mean.”

“Would you mind having a quiet evening at my apartment?” He suggested. “I’d like to think I’m a decent cook.”

“You are!” You blurted, unable to stop yourself. It was a simple but intimate gesture to cook a meal for someone, you thought, and it made your heart swell. Not to mention every bit of his cooking you had up to that point was delicious. "So, uh, yes! I would like that very much,” you smiled. 

“Dinner at my place it is, then,” he smiled back.

“This seems more my speed anyway. I’m not much for anything, um, what’s the word? Exciting?” You shrug sheepishly.

“You’re more of a homebody?” 

“Yes! That’s it,” you snap your fingers but they make no noise. You try a few more times before you finally get them to snap. “Wow, I’m really making myself look appealing, aren’t I?”

“If you’re expecting me to lie about how attracted I am to you, even now, I’m afraid I’m going to disappoint you,” Ignis hummed as he looked at you with nothing but adoration in his eyes. 

“Aaahhh,” you hid your face in your hands as you blushed hard. “Is this real?”

“I hope so,” he laughed. “Otherwise, I’ll be very disappointed if this ended up being a dream.”

“Yeah…” you trailed off, also hoping it wasn’t a dream. “So, did you wanna have the date tonight?”

“Tonight sounds perfect,” he smiled softly. You could have melted at the way he looked at you. “I should take my leave,” Ignis stated as he looked at his phone. “I look forward to our date tonight. Don’t forget your mittens, you’ll need them.”

“I won’t!” You giggled. “Bye Ignis!”

Once Ignis was gone, you swiveled in your chair and hopped up to your feet. You knew Prompto didn’t have a student for another half hour so you walked up to his room and began furiously banging on the door. 

“Oh em gee, calm down!” You heard him cry from the other side. Once he opened the door he was met with your wide grin. “What’s with you?”

“GUESS WHO’S GOT A DATE TONIGHT!”


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Date time!

“I cannot believe Ignis asked you out on a date,” Prompto giggled as you rummaged through your dresser. “I mean, the guy has been freaking out about you since day one.”

“Really?” you gasped, feeling touched that he was actually interested so soon.

“Yeah, even Noct can back that up, right buddy?” Prompto nudged Noct, who was laying on your bed beside his sunshine boyfriend. 

“Yeah, he tried to be vague about it but I knew he was talking about you,” Noct explained with a shrug. 

“That makes me feel better about all this,” you sighed. You brought up a dress and placed it against your body. “How about this?”

Noctis stuck his tongue out and made a fart noise. “Nope.”

“What? Why? What’s wrong with it?”

“You’re having a casual date at his place, not going to a gala,” he explained. “Don’t think too much about looking good, you already know he likes you.”

“Right, don’t worry about looks,” you mumbled, trying to wrap your head around the idea. You had been hanging out with the boys since you had gotten home. Ignis wasn’t going to pick you up from your place for another hour so you had time to get ready while they mooched off of the food in your fridge. 

“Hey, can I borrow a few of your 3DS games?” Noct asked as he continued to look through your 3DS game library. He had brought it onto the bed with him so he didn’t have to stand. 

“What? No, you won’t give them back,” you snorted as you slipped on some black snake print tights.

“You don’t know that,” Noct sneered. “Cute bra, by the way.”

“Thanks, this is my sexy bra,” you smiled. You made the mistake of looking down and saw the stretch marks that crept their way up your stomach and you sighed. 

Prompto caught your self deprecating sigh and, as if reading your mind, jumped off the bed and walked to your side. “Hey, hey, hey. None of that!” he scolded. “He wouldn’t have asked you out if he wasn’t sexually attracted to you.”

You felt your face heat up, “I mean…” you worried your bottom lip, unable to come up with a retort of some kind. He was right but your mind didn’t want him to be. Your mind wanted him to be wrong and for you to just hide in your bed for the rest of your life. 

Your sunshine boy took a few articles of clothing from your dresser and handed one to you after mulling over which one was best. “Here, this is casual but has that oomph!” 

You took the top and examined it. It had a nice little cleavage window and had a built-in sash that tied at the waist, at the bottom it flared out to accentuate your curves to give you more of an hourglass shape. “Kinda cleavage-y, don’t you think?”

“You’ve got huge tits, why not show ‘em off a little?” Prompto wiggled his eyebrows.

You rolled your eyes as you put the top on. “It’s going to be super obvious that I’m trying to get him interested with my boobs.”

“He already bought you those cute mittens, I don’t see why you’re reluctant to show yourself off to a guy who ASKED. YOU. OUT. ON. A. DATE!” Prompto clapped his hands together with each word to emphasize to you how ridiculous you sounded. “We’re just going in circles at this point!”

“I’m sorry,” you ran your fingers through your hair, which you had let down for once. “I’m just nervous. It’s not every day some guy completely out of my league asks me out.”

Noct snorted in the background. “He’s a dork, don’t worry about him being out of your league.” He looked over at your nightstand and saw an incoming text. “He’s texting you, by the way.”

“Ah!” You rushed to your phone and read the message.

Ignis:

“Forgive me but I failed to ask if you have any allergies I should be avoiding.”

Y/N:

“Oh, that’s okay. I don’t have any allergies :)”

Ignis:

“Splendid. Is there anything you prefer I cook with?”

Y/N:

“If it’s not too late, I do like mushrooms :drooling emoji:”

Iggy:

“I believe I have some mushrooms I could add :)”

“Oh, and bring Gravity Falls.”

Y/N:

“Wait, really? On a date???”

Iggy:

“It’s your favourite, isn’t it? I want you to be comfortable. Besides, I’ve found myself getting quite invested.”

You smiled brightly at your phone. The boys giggled in the background. 

“I’ll have no comments from the peanut gallery,” you grumbled as your gaze drifted from your phone to the boys. 

“Aw, come on, you’re just really cute,” Prompto smiled as he walked back to the bed. 

  
-

There was a knock at the door, startling the boys, who had gotten comfortable on your bed. So much so that they were under the covers playing your games while you were getting ready. 

“That’s him,” you called to them as you made your way to the door. You could hear intense shuffling from your room as you opened the door to find your date smiling brightly at you. “Hey, Iggy.”

“Hello darling.” 

“Oh em gee, he called her darling,” Prompto’s voice whispered harshly in the background.

Ignis’s eyes drifted passed you and his smile turned into an expression of confusion. “Prompto?”

“Hey,” Prompto waved.

“He followed me home,” you explained as you gathered your outdoor gear. “Even invited the prince himself.”

“Hey, I’m just here to steal from your collection of games,” Noctis said as he walked out of your room, an armful of games in tow. 

“So, you admit it!” You pointed to the raven haired boy. “Stay out of my collection, you leech.”

“Just go,” Prompto ushered quietly. “We’ll house sit for you. Enjoy your time together, you two.” With that, Prompto closed the door behind you, leaving you alone in the hall with Ignis.

“That was odd,” he chuckled. 

“I just hope they don’t eat all my food,” you grumble. “And if you find any of my games at Noct’s place, please bring them back.”

“I will,” Ignis nodded and followed you to the stairs.

“Look, look,” you showcased your hands dressed in the mittens Ignis had given you earlier that day.

“Ah, finally wearing mittens,” he said as the two of you walked down the flights of stairs to the main floor. “They look lovely on you.”

“Hey, thanks,” you took the mitten part off, leaving you with the fingerless gloves, and wiggled your fingers. “I like that I can plug them in and preheat them before going out. Like a little hand oven.”

“Twice now you’ve equated the heating mechanic of the mittens as something else. First an electric blanket and now an oven,” he chuckled. “It’s very amusing.”

“Glad I’m amusing to  _ someone _ at least,” you shrugged.

“I hope you don’t mind walking,” he said as the two of you exit the building.

“No, it’ll give us some time to chat and enjoy the snowfall,” you replied. 

“My thoughts exactly,” he took your hand, weaving his fingers between yours. “Shall we?” You suppressed a childish giggle as you nodded, hiding the bottom half of your face in your scarf.

The snow fell around you in large fluffy chunks while the snow on the ground glittered in the lamp light that illuminated your path. It was as if the entire scene was taken straight out of a hallmark movie, unbelievable. 

“You’re awfully quiet,” Ignis commented, squeezing your hand to get your attention. “What are you thinking about?”

“Oh, lots of things. How pretty the snow is, how nice it feels to not have the biting wind in your face, things like that,” you replied with a shrug. "But there is one thing I can’t seem to stop thinking about."

"And what would that be?"

"Why?"

He chuckled. "You'll have to be a little more specific than that, darling."

You liked the new pet name. It gave you warm fuzzies every time he used it, which was now a grand total of two times. You were hoping that trend would continue into the night or that he’d venture into other terms of endearment. 

"Why do you like me?"

"I find you intriguing."

You looked off to the side, watching the two of you walk together in the reflections of the store windows you passed. You were much shorter than him, it was cute. "I don't see why, I'm not very interesting."

Ignis snorted a laugh. "You would lie to my face? How bold of you."

"Wha?" You tilted your head in his direction, confused.

"Out of all the women I've had the pleasure of courting, you have been the most interesting by far," he explained, squeezing your hand a little tighter. "From the way I see you interact with the patrons at your place of work, to how you gifted me that little plush mascot. You may not have realised it, but all those little things add up."

“Wow,” you smiled inside of your scarf as you kicked the snow in your path. “I guess I just never thought of myself as interesting.”

“I feel the same,” Ignis sighed. “I’ve never felt I was exciting.”

“You don’t need to be exciting to be a good partner,” you shrugged. “You just need to click with the other person.”

“Well said. Perhaps you should listen to your own sage advice, hm?” Ignis smiled down at you. You merely shrugged, unable to come up with anything of value to say in return. “We’re nearly there.”

“Already?” You gasped. 

“Time flies with good company.”

  
  


Upon entering Ignis’s apartment, you took off your outdoor garb and walked over to the little herb garden in the corner of the kitchen. “Hello little herbs. Having a good time in there?” You asked them. The plants said nothing in return but you continued anyway. “Looks a little cramped in there, I hope you’re doing well.”

“You’re adorable,” you heard Ignis say behind you. You turned to see him looking at you affectionately. 

“Aha,” you sunk into yourself, not used to getting so many compliments. What are you supposed to say? “Thanks.”

As if reading your mind, but most likely your body language, Ignis spoke again. “My apologies. Am I making you uncomfortable?”

“N-no, no!” You reassured him. “I’m just, um. I don’t go on a lot of dates. I’m just a little nervous.”

“Then let’s not call it a date,” he offered. “Just two individuals getting to know each other.”

“We can still call it a date,” you played with your fingers. “But I appreciate you trying to accommodate my unease.”

“Of course. I want you to feel comfortable and not be dreading the thought of having to ‘put out’, as Gladio so eloquently put it,” he said with air quotes. He seemed physically uncomfortable with the words he used in quotations. It made you feel much better about the situation that even he wasn’t expecting anything from you.

“What are you making?” You asked, changing the subject. 

“I found an old recipeh I hadn’t made in a few months,” he explained but stopped short when you started to giggle loudly. 

“A  _ what _ ?”

“A recipeh,” he repeated. You snorted another laugh and he quirked an amused eyebrow. “Is something amusing to you?”

“You say recipe funny,” you giggled, covering your mouth to hide your wide smile. “ _ Recipeh _ .”

“Oh, are we making fun of my accent, now?” He crossed his arms and leaned against the fridge. “Do go on.”

“I’m not making fun of your accent, it’s actually very attractive,” you said as you leaned against the kitchen island, baffled by how confident you sounded as you told him his voice was hot. “I’m making fun of this specific word. It’s silly.”

“Silly?” he repeated, feigning offence. “Then I suppose you won’t be trying the other  _ recipeh _ I whipped up for dessert.”

“Wait, no, I take it back! It’s not silly, it’s perfect,” you whined, reaching over the island with your little grabby hands for the promised dessert.

“Are you a wine drinker, Y/N?” Ignis asked as he rummaged through a cupboard for a couple wine glasses.

“Unfortunately no,” you sighed. “But don’t let that stop you from enjoying it yourself. I don’t mind!”

“Then what would you like to drink?”

“Got any rum or vodka?”

Ignis pointed to a glass cabinet. “You are free to go through the liquor cabinet and make whatever you like.”

“Sweet,” you shuffled over to the cabinet and looked through your options. You noticed a little mini fridge beside the cabinet and opened it to find various carbonated drinks for mixing. “Fancy setup,” you mumbled to yourself, taking out a cola. You decided on something simple, a rum and cola in a fancy little glass.

“I guess I never got an answer to what we’re having for dinner,” you said as you made your way back to the kitchen.

“Yes, you were a little  _ distracted _ ,” Ignis teased. 

“ _ Recipeh _ ,” you whispered to bug him. He rolled his eyes and set two plates on the little table in the adjacent dining room. “Oooou, is that risotto?”

“Indeed,” he nodded as the two of you sat down. “Cheers.”

You clink your glasses together before trying the food. Ignis seemed to be waiting for your reaction. “Oh wow,” you say, covering your mouth so as to not look disgusting while you talk with your mouth full. “Ignis, this is so good.” 

“I’m glad you like it,” he smiled before taking a sip of wine.

“What does that even taste like?” You asked, eyeing his wine.

“Care to have a sip?” He offered his glass to you and you took it in your small chubby hands. 

First you looked at it. It was red. Then you smelled it. It smelled of fermented grapes, that was for sure. You then placed the glass to your lips and tipped it up until the smallest bit of liquid entered your mouth. It was bitter and you immediately grimaced, scrunching your nose in disgust. “Bleh!”

Ignis couldn’t help throwing his head back in laughter at how animated your response to the flavour was. “Don’t like it?” He asked, still laughing and wiping the corner of his eye. As if that was even a question. The nerve.

“It’s an acquired taste that I will never truly acquire,” you said as you slid the glass back to Ignis. “I guess I’ll only ever enjoy the flavoured wines in the baby aisle of the liquor store.”

“Duly noted,” Ignis nodded before taking another sip of wine. “I’ll be sure to have one ready for you next time.” 

You shuffled in your chair at the thought of a ‘next time’.

As Ignis was putting the dishes away, you sauntered into the living area. You placed your bag on the couch before looking at the games Ignis had on his shelf. He didn’t have much, a few titles for both a PS4 and Nintendo Switch. You were surprised he even had a Switch since there weren’t too many games you thought he’d be interested in. 

“Your game library is sparse,” you commented as you dragged your finger across the game cases.

“Compared to your extensive library, yes it isn’t much to look at, but the titles are good,” he said as he walked up beside you and pulled out a couple titles. “These are some of my favourites.”

You took them and inspected the games. Bloodborne and Dark Souls. “These are incredibly hard,” you said. “I could never play these. I don’t have the patience that’s needed.”

“I enjoy the challenge,” he took the games and placed them back in their spots on the shelf. “Any game that keeps my mind active is very enjoyable.”

“I should lend you my Fire Emblem games,” you thought out loud. “It’s basically chess but with attractive people and a cool plot. You can play with perma-death to raise the stakes but I’m too much of a baby to do that.”

“That sounds very interesting,” he placed a finger to his chin in thought. “Sexy chess.”

You giggled, “Yes, exactly! Sexy chess. It’s not a co-op game but I’d love to watch you play it.”

“Speaking of co-op,” Ignis took out a kart racer. “Care to test your skills?”

“You’re awfully confident,” you crossed your arms. 

“Did you miss the part where I told you the boys won’t play me anymore?”

“That could be for a multitude of reasons. You could be a sore loser or drive like a grandpa,” you explained in a teasing manner. 

Ignis laughed. “Then let’s play and find out.”

After picking your characters and course, the race started. It was going well for you until something hit you and sent you to last place. “Ah!” you gasped.

“I’m not sorry,” Ignis commented.

“I’m so emotionally distraught,” you sniffed, being very fake in your delivery of distress. You crept your way back to second place and was about to pass Ignis but he threw another weapon at you and set you back. “Oh my gods. You dick.” You just heard him giggle as you focused on getting back to the front. You ended up losing in 5th place. “I’m so disappointed in myself.”

“Don’t feel bad. Everyone feels that way after playing a racing game with me.” 

“That’s about to change,” you challenged, cracking your knuckles to limber up. “Another round!”

You lost. 

“Damnit!” Your head fell back as you groaned. “One more!”

You decided to play dirty and waved your hand in front of Ignis to obscure his vision. “No distractions while I’m driving!” He scolded playfully, swatting your hand away. 

“How are you so good at this!?” You cried, nudging him with your shoulder to try and get him off his game. “It’s not fair. Are you cheating? You modded the game, I’m sure of it!”

“Such accusations!” Ignis shoved you so you would be far enough away not to sabotage him. He was still winning and it made you so mad.

“Okay, wow, you weren’t kidding about being good at this,” you let out a defeated sigh. “Alright, okay, I got this. One more round.”

“If you’re sure,” he said with a smug tone, pressing the button to replay the course. 

After the last few rounds, you got a feel for how he played. He had no idea you were studying him but he was about to get a rude awakening. Your turns were sharp, you blocked his attacks strategically, and you even let him get in front of you before sniping him at the last minute, passing him and winning the race.

“What!?” Ignis cried in genuine surprise. 

“HAH!” You cheered loudly. “Ooohhhh, what? Did I just do that? Did I just win? Hell yeah I did!! Woo!!” 

“I can’t believe this!”

“Oh, you better believe it, baby! Looks like there’s a new queen in town,” you poked at Ignis’s arm playfully. You stopped when you realised how juvenile you were being. “Ah, sorry, I shouldn’t gloat like that.”

“Don’t feel the need to hide who you are, Y/N,” he said with a warm smile. “So, please, gloat all you want. I want to see who’s hiding behind those stunning eyes of yours.”

“Geez,” a giggle caught in your throat. The way Ignis made you feel so giddy was unbelievably. “How are you even real?”

“I could very well say the same about you.”

“Sounds fake, but okay.”

“Do you  _ still _ need me to convince you?”

“Yes, because frankly, I find it hard to believe someone as perfect as you would be so interested in a potato gremlin like me,” you shrugged, thinking you might as well get it all out there. No point in dragging anything on, no matter how attractive he was, you needed to know if he was really into you. 

“Very well, then,” he placed the game controller on the coffee table. There was a moment of silence between the two of you as you waited for him to continue trying to convince you of his attraction. At first, when he didn’t say anything, you were disappointed. That is, until you noticed he began to lean in. He was only a couple inches from you when he stopped. 

“May I?” He asked, his voice low. 

“Please.”

He closed the gap between you, soft lips pressed against yours in a gentle kiss. It was finally happening. It was real and it was perfect. 

He tried to pull away but you leaned into him, chasing the feeling he left you wanting so much more of. He kissed you back with fervor, darting his tongue out to lick your bottom lip, to which you eagerly complied and opened your mouth. You whined at the feeling of his tongue brushing against yours, exploring your mouth. One of his hands slid to the back of your head grabbing a fistful of your hair while the other pulled you closer. You took the hint and shimmied into his lap, knees on either side of him, and wrapped your arms around his neck. 

An hour passed and you were still making out and exploring each other, the game on the tv screen completely forgotten. You were fairly certain one of your legs was asleep from straddling the man but you couldn’t care less.

“Wow,” was all you could say when you finally pulled away. You already missed the feeling of his lips on yours.

“Indeed,” he breathed, forehead pressed against yours. 

“Can we do that again?” you asked. Your question garnered a laugh from your gorgeous date. Wow, that smile. “Is that a yes?”

“I could kiss you all night, love,” he purred, running his fingers up and down your thick thighs. Oh boy, that sent some wildly impure thoughts going through your mind. You turned to rummage through your bag, trying your best not to slip from his lap, and brought out your phone to text your sunshine boy. 

Y/N:

“Hey, don’t wait up.”

Almost immediately you got a text back.

Sunshine Boy:

“OMG!!!1!!”

“What was that?” Ignis asked in an amused tone. You threw your phone back to the other side of the couch.

“Don’t worry about it,” you said as you dove in for another kiss.

  
  


You woke the next morning to the pleasant aroma of coffee. You rolled over to find yourself alone in a room you were unfamiliar with. “Hmm.” You ponder to yourself. Memories slowly come back to you and you remembered you had spent the night at Ignis’s. 

“Good morning,” the man in question smiled as he walked into the room, offering a cup of coffee.

“Oh no, you’re a morning person,” you huffed, taking the cup. “Thank you.”

“Look at it this way,” he started, shuffling his way back into bed. “You’ll never have to make your own coffee ever again.”

“Sounds like someone is being presumptuous,” you smiled into your cup. Your comment seemed to have taken Ignis off guard as he stared at you with an expression that was both worry and surprise. You reached out to pet his arm affectionately, “Hey, I’m kidding.”

“No, you’re right. We never talked about anything long term,” he put his coffee down on the nightstand and faced you. “Would you like to be in a relationship with me?”

“Only if you keep making delicious food,” you sighed happily.

“I will do that so long as you don’t forget to wear your mittens,” he said, taking one of your hands in his. He placed a kiss on the back of your hand. “These adorable hands of yours need to be protected from the cold.”

You leaned into him, placing your head on his shoulder. “Deal.”

The days had gone by so quickly after your first date with Ignis. Days, weeks, a month had gone by like nothing. 

You hummed along to the music of your game as you played, getting a little too into it and wiggling around while your humming turned into beeps and bops. You could hear Ignis laugh in the background.

"Enjoying yourself?" He mused.

"This song slaps," you replied simply. The little Gudetama plush you gave him a month prior caught your attention. He was sitting on the PS4 being his lazy self. "Hey, you should come relax with me!"

"And leave the dishes unwashed?"

"Yes, I'll do them later. Come sit with me!" You called out to him with a pout.

You could hear his footfalls leaving the kitchen and coming up behind you from where you sat on the couch. You tilted your head back to greet him as he kissed you. The tender moment was short lived as he placed his wet soapy hands on your face. "Eww! Iggy no!!" You wiped the water off of your face with your sleeve. "Regret."

Ignis giggled as he sat beside you, arm resting on your shoulders. "What did I do to deserve you?"

"I dunno but putting your soapy hands on my face is not one of them," you stuck your tongue out at him playfully. 

"Here, let me make it up to you," Ignis got up for a moment before coming back with a little bag. "A gift."

"Babe, you didn't have to," you sigh affectionately. You reached into the bag and felt something fuzzy. "Aww did you get me more mittens?"

"To add to your collection, yes," Ignis smiled. "You've been taking my request to wear weather appropriate attire very seriously."

"If it means getting to date your gorgeous butt then I'll wear three pairs at once," you joked as you pulled the mittens out of the bag. "Oh! Moogle mittens!!"

"I thought of you when I saw them," he kissed your temple and nuzzled into you. "Plush, soft, adorable, you are one and the same."

"I guess I'm just irresistible, kupo!" You giggled before stealing a kiss. "I love you."

Ignis kissed you back, "I love you, as well, darling."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, thanks for reading! I had fun writing something short and sweet. I'm so used to writing really long fics lol!  
> Hope you enjoyed it :)


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